How I Met Your Mother Part II

Where was I? Oh yes, I was standing on the street corner watching Julie race away and seriously beginning to doubt what I felt. I was certain this girl was meant for me and that I was meant for her but if she couldn't even remember my name maybe things weren't as I had thought. And for eight or nine months I went on doubting the certainty of our eternal relationship. I dated other girls but none of whom made me feel the way Julie had on that very first encounter. We still lived near each other so we still saw each other at social activities.
Around Valentines Day there was a dance. To make a long story short we were basically assigned dates. (Don't ask me, it was weird.) Anyway, Julie was not my date, however, I did convince her to spare me a dance. Now, we have to go back in time a little bit because when I found out that Julie wasn't going to be my date I thought of a "line." Not some greasy pick-up line but something very classy that would show her just how special I knew her to be. The trick was going to be to say it in such a way that it would seem completely spontaneous, incredibly charming and overwhelmingly flattering. Fast forward back to the dance. We were dancing and the moment was right and I delivered my line: "So who is your date tonight?" She replied. "Oh, so that's who I've been jealous of all night." The delivery was superb and the effect better than expected. For just a second she was completely flattered and that smile that won my heart when I first met her returned. It was the second best dance of my life. (The first being much later when I danced with her at our wedding.)
Alas, the dance ended, we said goodnight and things went back to the way they were after the laundry incident; which can essentially be described as awkward. The school semester ended and Julie left to spend the summer on a study abroad in England. I went home for just a little and then came back to school to prepare for a new semester.
It is now September of 2005, Labor Day, the last hurrah before school starts again. A group of us headed over to a nearby park for some ultimate Frisbee; Julie happened to be included in the group. It was the first time I had seen her in a few months. Julie still looked great and for some reason she was flirting with me. (I learned later that she was flirting with me that day to let one of my roommates know that she was decidedly uninterested in him and not because she was overly interested in me. But at the time I didn't know that and suddenly I had renewed hope.) So later that day I decided I would ask her out. I had a plan: I would ask her if she wanted to make dinner together. It's the perfect date in my book. You get to spend time together in a non-formal, totally casual way and it's a lot cheaper than going out to a restaurant. I didn't plan out what I was going to say because I thought I was pretty charming. (I had forgotten all the preparation that went into the last charming line.) So when I thought the opportunity had presented itself I asked her out. Well, I thought I asked her out. What I said was "I have noodles." She gave me a confused look and I explained my plan for making dinner together. She agreed. Again I need to stress the fact that I thought I had made it clear that I was asking her out on a date. When I arrived at her door with noodles in hand she informed me that she had invited her roommates.
It was not a date.
She really wasn't interested in me. Surprisingly enough having my heart broken the second time wasn't quite as bad. Almost immediately I changed my plan. If I couldn't have a date with Julie then maybe I could I get a good meal at least once a week. So I suggested that we have "family dinner" every Wednesday. It was the perfect plan because Julie was a great cook and I, being a college-age guy living on his own, was not. She went for it and so did her roommates. Once a week I would come over and we would all make dinner together. That was the plan anyway. What actually happened was that Julie and I would make dinner together and sometimes her roommates would eat with us; sometimes they wouldn't. Over the course of a few months we grew close and one weekend she went home, talked to her sisters (as I understand it essentially bet them that she could be dating me within 48 hours) came back to school and 48 hours later we were together. We've been together ever since.
Do I regret any part of our story? No. It's a fun story to tell and the ending is the best part: They are currently living happily ever after.